Rwanda has launched a new electronic certificate system for land registration known as e-Title. The system will improve service delivery, address the issue of land titles getting lost or damaged, and help realise the goal of “zero trips, zero paper” for land transactions.

With the new e-Title system, land titles will be provided immediately following approval by the Land Registrar. The land owner will receive a notification with a link to download and save a digital copy of their land title.

The new system will eliminate the issuance of physical land title deeds and enable other sectors to rely on digital land certificates to serve citizens in different capabilities.

The e-Title system will accelerate service delivery and reduce the costs associated with the production of titles. Land owners will be able to access e-Titles via Rwanda’s land portal at landinformation.lands.rw

With the new system, transactions that do not need to be processed by land notaries will now be fully online and accessible via Irembo. Rwandans, including those living abroad, are now able to enjoy the automated land services and get instant access to their land titles without needing to involve third parties, which in the past has necessitated provision of the power of attorney.

Under the new system, land owners will no longer pay the Rwf 5,000 fee for printing their title. However, a landowner who requires a printed copy of their title may make a special written request to the National Land Authority and will pay Rwf 5,000 to cover the printing cost. 

The advantage of electronic land titles will also be smooth access to other services such as financial services, building permits, justice services, tax clearance, fertilizers and agriculture services as well as other transactions that require a land title as supporting documentation.

Rwanda’s successful nationwide Land Tenure Regularisation program was completed from 2009-2013 and included land demarcation, adjudication, parcel digitisation and land registration parcel by parcel. Today, every land record is kept in a digital registry. This systematic land registration resulted in more than 10.4 million parcels being demarcated and 8.8 million land titles being issued to land owners.